Chapter 226: Pulling a Cart on Land, Towing a Boat in Water

“Sanbao! Over here.” Yan Yu’s voice was soft, but she was sure Sanbao could hear her.

Sanbao had already unhitched its cart frame. Now, not only did it have its own dedicated stable in the Yan family’s courtyard, it even enjoyed the luxury of not having a fixed parking spot.

With steady, even steps, Sanbao walked over.

Yan Yu reached out her hand, and Sanbao lowered its head so she could stroke it more easily.

Petting cats wasn’t enough anymore—every now and then, she needed to pet a cow.

“Sanbao, can you swim?” Yan Yu asked.

Sanbao nodded.

“Can you dive?” she continued.

Sanbao nodded again.

“You can even walk on the riverbed, right? Your energy system, Uncle said it’s solar-powered. I still remember the slogan from the ad—charge for three hours, plow for a month.”

Sanbao nodded repeatedly. She was right—it really was just like that.

“If… I mean if I asked you to plow the riverbed, could you do it?” Yan Yu asked, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

Yan Lao’er: …

Is her imagination really this wild?

Plow the riverbed?

Girl, do you even understand what that word means?

Sanbao kept nodding.

Yan Lao’er: Shocked!

Sanbao, do you know what she’s talking about?

Yan Yu burst out laughing and stood up, wrapping her arms around Sanbao’s big head and giving it a vigorous rub.

“Sanbao, you’re amazing, the best! I knew you could do it—I just knew!”

Yan Lao’er: “What? Why are we suddenly plowing the riverbed? Sanbao, did you even understand what she said? You just keep nodding!”

Sanbao’s head started bobbing again, up and down nonstop.

This poor cow—it was nodding like it was on a spring.

“Papa, think about it. Aside from being underwater, how is it different from clearing land on land? You clear obstacles—could be rocks, could be water plants—then level out the uneven spots. If it’s not deep enough, just dig a little more.

What can’t Sanbao do? Above water or below, it’s capable of it all!” Yan Yu lifted her chin proudly, as if she herself could do the job.

Yan Lao’er gave it some thought.

It did… sort of make sense.

If you ignored the wild fantasy part, it was actually quite doable.

Sanbao didn’t need to breathe, and it didn’t have to worry about poor visibility underwater. The riverbed… could it really plow that?

“Wait, why do you even want to plow the riverbed?” Yan Lao’er finally caught the main point.

“In the short term, we’d be cleaning up the nearby river channels—so no one gets tangled in water plants or trips over submerged rocks… reducing the risk of accidents.”

Yan Yu wasn’t just exaggerating—water could be as dangerous as fire. Especially living along the river, it was impossible to keep everyone from going into the water. Right now, everyone was focused on gathering herbs in the mountains, but once that was done and people had time again, you’d see—they would start going to the river.

Just the village kids alone were a handful.

She was pointing out the two biggest hidden dangers.

Once those were cleared, most people brave enough to go in could at least swim a little. That would significantly improve safety.

“Long term, we build a ferry crossing. Then we’ll have our own boat and can travel freely along the river, no need to stick to inland roads—straight to Longxing, Fengming, Gufeng, Changping…”

Yan Yu took a deep breath, eyes twinkling with starry ambition.

“Papa, we really picked a great spot. If we can travel by boat, we won’t have to take the long way to Yongning City via Dashi Bridge. We could go straight across—it would save so much time.”

She picked up a small stone and started sketching on the ground.

“This is our village, this is Yongning City. The river runs between us. Papa, when you went to Longxing, you took the Official Road, but on the way back you cut through a shortcut, right?”

Yan Lao’er: “Right.”

“Sanbao, draw the Official Road from Yongning to Longxing, and then the water route from Longxing to our village. You should’ve recorded it. Even if the shortcut wasn’t fully scanned, just give us a rough, broken path—it’ll do.”

Sanbao looked at the ground, then lifted its hoof and drew a nearly straight line to represent the Official Road.

When it got to the river, Sanbao switched to wavy lines.

Two flowing curves accurately outlined the path of the river.

The space between the lines showed the river’s width.

Some parts were missing—likely because they’d been too far off for Sanbao to scan.

After Sanbao finished, Yan Yu filled in the gaps where the lines were incomplete.

The stretch from Longxing to their village started to take shape.

Once the map was drawn, everything became much clearer.

Yan Yu immediately had another request: “Sanbao, draw the return route.”

Sanbao scratched out a straight line with its hoof.

Yan Yu crouched there, staring at it for a long while without moving.

Yan Lao’er shifted his legs—they were starting to go numb.

“Papa and Uncle Qi Si took that straight-line route and made it back in two days. Took three days using the Official Road. Judging by the map, the distance between the Official Road and the river isn’t that different. Factor in the current—going with or against the flow—and it roughly evens out. But for transporting goods, the water route would be far more convenient.” Yan Yu laid out her reasoning.

“Papa, let’s build a raft first. Just the two of us. Let’s try going upstream and see how fast we can move.”

Yan Lao’er: “Building a raft isn’t hard, but… would it really work? What if something happens? I can only swim for a bit on my own—I can’t carry you.”

Yan Yu rolled her eyes. “Papa, use your brain a little, will you? I’ve been talking all this time and you didn’t retain a single word!

We’ve got Sanbao! It can be our escort. We go by water, it follows us underwater. If we can’t paddle fast enough upstream, we tie a rope to Sanbao—let it give us a tow…”

Yan Lao’er: Oh great. It pulls your cart on land, now it’s pulling your boat in water…

“Sanbao, ah!” Yan Lao’er sighed deeply. “You really have it rough, huh? Living with our family… we’re not making it easy for you.”

Yan Yu puffed her cheeks and stared at him. Don’t think she didn’t catch that—Papa was clearly talking about her.

She suddenly began to tremble, her face twisted in a look of grievance and sorrow. Her nose twitched, and her voice took on the quiver of impending tears. “Who am I doing this for? Isn’t it all for this family?”

Her tone brimmed with accusation, her eyes silently condemning her father.

Yan Lao’er: No warning at all and she just launches into a performance? How am I supposed to respond to that?

Yan Yu continued.

She let out a faint, wistful sigh, her gaze drifting off into the distance, eyes hazy with emotion.

“Forget it… in the end, it was all misplaced devotion…”

Fumbling around, she finally found the little handkerchief Daya had given her. With a flick of her wrist and a slight tilt of her head, she dabbed rhythmically beneath each eye.

Yan Lao’er: Missed my cue—what a shame!

He felt a strange mix of disappointment and barely restrained laughter.

“I just got home today, and you’ve already lined up work for me? Can’t it wait a bit?” Yan Lao’er asked.

Yan Yu spread her small hands, the picture of helplessness. “Papa! I’ve got a whole pile of things to deal with too. But this one—this has to be us. Just the two of us. And we’ve got to sneak around at night to do it… I don’t want to stay up late either. Your daughter is still just a baby, you know!”

“If this really works, there’ll be even more to handle afterward. Our grain-buying operation will probably hinge on this river. Upstream, downstream—Fengming, Changping—we’ll have to go everywhere. And I’m guessing it’s still going to be the two of us…”

(End of Chapter)